Karnataka Bank Ltd. (KTKBANK) - Company History

Karnataka Bank Ltd, a premier private sector bank, is a leading 'A' Class Scheduled Commercial Bank in India. The Bank offers a total value package, a one-stop shop for all the banking needs. They provide Working Capital Finance, Term Loans and Infrastructure Finance to help the Business grow. The Bank operates in four business segments, namely treasury, corporate and wholesale banking, retail banking and other banking operations.
Karnataka Bank Ltd was incorporated on February 18, 1924 as The Karnataka Bank Ltd at Mangalore in Karnataka. The Bank was established to cater to the banking needs of the South Kanara Region. In May 23, 1924, the Bank obtained the certificate to commence business. In April 4, 1966, they received their license to carry on the banking business in India.
The Bank was promoted by B R Vysarayachar and other leading members of the South Kanara Region. Under the able guidance of K S N Adiga, the second chairman of the Bank who held the post for a period of 21 years, the Bank made significant progress thereby providing a strong foundation and as a result grew in stature in terms of number of branches, deposits, advances etc.
In the year 1964, the Bank took over the assets and liabilities of the Chitaldurg Bank Ltd. In the 1966, they took over the assets and liabilities of the Bank of Karnataka Ltd, Hubli and opened 14 new branches in places where the Bank of Karnataka Ltd was formerly functioned. In the year 1997, the Bank became an authorized dealer of foreign exchange and established specialized branches for financing foreign exchange, industry and agriculture, etc. In the year 1989, they opened a merchant banking division.
In the year 1995, the Bank came out with the public cum right issue aggregating Rs 81 crore. In the year 2000, they signed an MoU with Infosys Technologies Ltd for implementation of Finacle, a Core Banking Solution. In the year 2002, they made a pact with Corporation Bank for sharing ATM's. Also, they made a tie-up with MetLife India for the distribution of insurance products as a corporate agent.
In the year 2003, the Bank took up Corporate Agency for distribution of products of Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co Ltd. The Bank in association with MetLife India launched K-Life a term product designed for SB/current account holders of the bank. Also, the Bank launched a credit product 'KBL Insta Cash' for consumption purposes, and 'KBL Vahana Mitra' for the purchase of new vehicles. The Bank along with Western Union Financial Services made tie-up with Bharat Overseas Bank to provide inbound money transfer services.
In the year 2004, the Bank launched the 'Gold Card Scheme' for the exporters. In the year 2005, the Bank launched real time gross settlement (RTGS) system under the name of Money Quick. Also, they inked an agreement with National Financial Switch for ATM connectivity and launched 'no frills' accounts. In the year 2006, they made a tie up with Franklin Templeton (I) Private Limited for distribution of their mutual funds. They launched CDSL-DP services at select branches.
In the year 2007, the Bank signed MoU with Allahabad Bank, Indian Overseas Bank, Sompo Japan Insurance Inc. and Dabur Investment Corporation to form a joint venture for undertaking General Insurance business.
During the year 2008-09, the Bank opend 16 branches at Moradabad, New Delhi - Karol Bagh, Thane, Mumbai - Vile Parle, Bommasandra, Bangalore - Chandra Layout, Bangalore - Sadashivanagar, Mysore - J P Nagar, Belgaum - Udyambag (Extension Counter upgraded), New Delhi - East of Kailash, Bangalore -Yelahanka New Town, Pune-Dhankawadi, Doddaballpur, Uppal Kalan, Bellandur and Hoskote.
The Bank added 30 ATM outlets at various locations. Also, they shifted 15 branches/ offices to new premises. The Bank won the prestigious Sun and NDTV Green IT award instituted by Sun Microsystems and NDTV, for use of eco efficient green technologies to run business.
During the year 2009-10, the Bank opened 17 branches in Patna, Kanakapura, Tambaram, Vellore, Dhanbad, Kolkata - Bhowanipore, Naganathapura, Gundlupet, New Delhi - Ashokvihar, Ujjain, Ghaziabad, Kancheepuram, Chennai - Annanagar (West), Brahmapur, Serillingampally, Durg and Rajarhat - Kolkata.
The Bank added 46 ATM outlets at various locations. Also, they shifted 16 branches/offices to new premises. In April 2010, the opened their 9th Regional Office at Hyderabad. The Bank bagged 'Special Award for use of IT for Internal effectiveness' for the year 2009, instituted by Institute for Development and Research in Banking Technology (IDRBT).
As on March 31, 2010, the Bank had 464 branches, 217 ATM outlets, 8 Regional Offices, one International Division, one Data Centre, one Customer Care Centre, 5 Service branches, 2 Currency Chests, 6 Extension Counters and two Central processing centers, spread across 20 states and 2 Union Territories. Further, for better ambience and improved customer service.
In September 2010, the Bank launched a new product exclusively for women, i.e. the new saving bank account for women named KBL Vanitah to encourage saving habit among the womenfolk and also to allay the fear of managing their wealth.
The Bank plans to increase their total number of business units to 780, by increasing the total number of branches to 480 and own ATM network to 300 by March 2011.